One of the many renovation projects being proposed by President Donald Trump is huge "triumphal arch" that would be built near Arlington National Cemetery. Never Trump conservative Bill Kristol offers a scathing critique of the proposal in an article for The Bulwark, arguing that it is diametrically opposed to democratic American values.

"To my untrained eye," Kristol writes in The Bulwark, "it seems undistinguished, vulgar, and overbearing. But what do I know about architecture? What I do know is that this is not American architecture. It is triumphal, in its way. But that way is European. Or South American. Or North Korean."

Kristol describes Trump's "triumphal arch" as a prime example of Trump's "Napoleon envy" — that is, "envy" of France's Napoleon Bonaparte.

"(Interior Secretary Doug) Burgum himself inadvertently makes this point: 'Over 70 major cities/capitals around the world … showcase beautiful arches. Interestingly, Washington, DC, is the only major Western capital without an arch,'" Kristol writes. "I'm old enough to remember when we Americans would have taken this as a point of distinction, as a point of pride. We don't do Great Triumphal Arches. We don't want Great Triumphal Arches. We don't need Great Triumphal Arches to prove to ourselves that we are a great nation. That's what emperors and dictators do."

The conservative journalist adds, "Trump's inspiration for his Great Triumphal Arch seems to have been the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, commissioned by Napoleon in 1806. But Napoleon's dictatorial rule was the outcome of a failed revolution. We used to be proud that the American Revolution took a different path from the French. We used to be proud that the American Revolution culminated in the American Constitution, that it led to the establishment of a constitutional republic that has flourished for two and half centuries, not an empire that lasted a couple of decades."

Kristol emphasizes that "here in Washington, D.C., we honor George Washington, not Napoleon."

"Washington was elected president of the new republic, governed constitutionally, and turned over the reins of government after two terms," Kristol explains. "Napoleon seized power, governed dictatorially, and kept power until he led his nation to bloody defeat in wars he launched. We used to be proud that Washington was the father of our country. We used to be proud of American exceptionalism. No more. Trump has Napoleon envy. Indeed, the Trump administration's Great Triumphal Arch and military observation deck would be 250 feet tall, 54 percent taller than Napoleon's Arc de Triomphe. We'll have, as Burgum boasted, 'the most spectacular and beautiful arch of them all!'"

Kristol argues that Americans "should all be appalled that the silent and dignified rows of white marble headstones at Arlington could be overshadowed by this Great Triumphal Arch."

"We should all be appalled that our current president is trying to impose such an un-American project on us," Kristol warns. "But America in 2026 isn't France in 1806. President Trump isn't Emperor Napoleon. Here, the people rule. Stop the arch."

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